CONSUMING AND PRODUCING HUMAN BRANDS: A STUDY OF ONLINE FANS OF REALITY TV MARIE-AGNES PARMENTIER A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ADMINISTRATION YORK UNIVERSITY, TORONTO, ONTARIO JULY 2009 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de ('edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 OttawaONK1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-54099-2 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-54099-2 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada CONSUMING AND PRODUCING HUMAN BRANDS: A STUDY OF ONLINE FANS OF REALITY TV By Marie-Agnes Parmentier a dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of York University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY © 2009 Permission has been granted to the LIBRARY OF YORK UNIVERSITY to lend or sell copies of this dissertation, to the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF CANADA to microfilm this dissertation and to lend or sell copies of the film, and to UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS to publish an abstract of this dissertation. The author reserves other publication rights, and neither the dissertation nor extensive extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's written permission. ABSTRACT This dissertation is divided into two separate papers. The first one investigates the practices of a virtual community of consumption where multiple brands are used as resources. Conducting a netnography of online sites frequented by fans of fashion modeling reality TV shows, I find that fans' practices entail using multiple brands for communal purposes. My study, therefore, furthers our theoretical understanding of how fans consume by identifying previously neglected practices that can emerge in virtual communities of consumption. It also contributes theoretical insights to our understanding of brands by identifying previously unexamined brand properties and the ways in which these properties enable certain brands to become resources for the community, reinforcing existing practices and promoting new ones. Finally, managerially, it explores implications for brand positioning, brand loyalty and attachment, and co-branding. The second paper examines the process by which fans, in conjunction with reality TV show's producers and contestants, co-produce new "human brands", i.e. the set of associations that a group of people beyond the individual's social network identify with a particular person. Using longitudinal data from the online fan site Television Without Pity, I explore the co-creation process and different branding outcomes in relation to fans' interpretive practices. Specifically, the study furthers our understanding of the emergence process for nascent brands, human or otherwise, i.e. those that are in the earliest stages of developing a set of associations. The study offers implications for brand and celebrity theory and human brand management. IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to share the last five years with such a wonderful group of individuals. First and foremost, I want to thank my amazing supervisor: Eileen Fischer. Thank you Eileen for your immense generosity, inspiring rigor, and genuine interest in both my work and overall well-being. I don't think this journey would have been remotely as rewarding and enjoyable should I not have had the great pleasure of working with you. I also sincerely thank the other members of my "golden" committee: Russ Belk whose encyclopedic knowledge has been completely inspiring and whose detailed and incredibly timely feedback is so useful; Rob Kozinets whose fascinating work encouraged me to pursue my own interest in fans, brands, netnography, and virtual communities and whose enthusiasm and expertise have been a wonderful source of motivation; and, Christine Oliver who always provides insightful and clever feedback in the most thoughtful way. I also thank John Schouten, for doing me the great honor of agreeing to serve as the external committee member, and Marlis Schweitzer, who graciously accepted our invitation as the internal/external committee member. The next group of people I want to thank is the Marketing department's faculty and staff. Over the course of my studies, I have had the chance to interact freely and frequently with them and I especially want to thank stellar professors Detlev Zwick, Ashwin Joshi, Markus Geisler, Peter Darke, Brenda Gainer, and Sammy Bonsu. I also extend my thanks to the nicest staff members: Lynn Brewer, Sheila Sinclair and Vilda Palmer. v I would not have had as much fun as I did on this journey without my Schulich peers. So, I thank (from my office to the next and so on): Sutapa Aditya, Brynn Winegard, Andrew Wilson, Jacline Abray-Nyman, Kamilla Sobol, Mei-Ling Wei, Yesim Ozalp, Yikun Zhao, Daiane Scaraboto, Ahir Gopaldas, Aron Darmody, Sarah Wilner, Eric Li, Leah Carter, Mary Ann Cunningham-Kim, Peter Lee, Chris Fredette, Tom Medcoff, and those Marketing students from elsewhere who visited us: Ashlee Humpreys, Richard Kedzior, Jeppe Linnet, Marius Luedicke, and Bill NP. I also want to acknowledge the great support of my friends/co-authors in the United States: Katherine Sredl, Catherine Coleman, and Linda Tuncay. And I am thankful to my dear friend, Daniel Montpetit, for introducing me to the fashion modeling reality TV virtual community. The final group of individuals I want to thank is my family: my patient and incredibly supportive parents, Francis Parmentier and Helene Mondou, who have instilled in me the value of hard work and have always allowed me to follow my own path, and my dear and loving husband, Martin Lauzon, whose presence by my side has been an incredible source of happiness, stability and strength. At last but not least, I want to offer some special thanks to my loyal companion of thirteen years, Chanel, the best cat a writer could ever ask for. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1: Brands as Resources for Virtual Communities of Consumption 5 Introduction 6 Theoretical Framework 11 Method 14 Findings 21 Discussion and Conclusion 62 CHAPTER 2: Co-Producing Nascent Human Brands 68 Introduction 69 Theoretical Framework 74 Method 78 Findings 81 Discussion and Conclusion 118 REFERENCES 125 APPENDICES 142 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Overview of Online Forum Activity 8 Table 2: Characteristics of Informants 14 Table 3: Research Engagement 15 Table 4: Community Practices 21 Table 5: Interaction Brand Properties-Community Practices 50 Table 6: Typology of Sources and Materials 83 Table 7: Graduating Outcomes: Nascent Human Brand Types & Meanings 110 LIST OF IMAGES Image 1: Consumer-Generated Advertisements 26 Image 2: Promotional Banners 27 Image 3: Avatars 28 Image 4: Venting through Fan Art 60 Image 5: Makeovers "Before & After" 86 Image 6: "Tootie Ramsey" 87 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Nascent Human Brands and the Co-Production of Meanings Process 92 x INTRODUCTION Prologue. This study arose from my interest in the reality TV modeling series America's Next Top Model (ANTM). I began watching in the Fall of 2004 as I was working on a research project that focused on fashion models as (human) brands. I enjoyed watching the series immensely and had a hunch that it would prove to be more significant in popular culture than most pundits thought. My own experience in the modeling world, as a model (once upon a time), and in the fashion industry later, told me that a television program that provided viewers with exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the world of modeling was an unusual first. I felt that it was bound to be appealing to the many followers of fashion who longed for what seems like an insider's view. It turns out that my instincts were right. ANTM is now broadcast over a hundred countries around the world and has sold franchises for local productions in many of them, including Canada. And with the launch of similar series (e.g., Make Me a Supermodel, The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency), fashion modeling reality TV seems to have become more or less of a permanent fixture on North American television. What I did not anticipate, however, was the growth of fashion modeling reality TV's following online.